The American DV Lottery Entrant Status Check is the official way to learn whether a Diversity Visa entry was selected. You need the program year, your entry confirmation number and identifying information. The check is free. A message, screenshot or paid website claiming that you won is not a substitute for the U.S. Department of State’s result screen.
Official guidance checked September 25, 2026. This guide focuses on getting into the status tool correctly and solving access problems. For an explanation of what a selected or non-selected message means, see our American DV Lottery results guide. GlobalVisora is an independent information site, not a U.S. government service. Its featured image is a conceptual AI illustration, not a real status screen.
Check the program year before you start
A DV program year is not necessarily the calendar year in which you submitted your entry. Check the year printed on your original confirmation record and select that same DV program in the status tool. Entering a valid number under a different year’s selection is a common reason a check fails.
USAGov says DV-2026 status became available on May 3, 2025, and can be checked through at least September 30, 2026. As of this guide’s source check, the State Department had not announced when DV-2027 selection results would become available. Do not treat a result that is not yet open as a rejection. Verify the applicable year’s timing before trying to check, especially if an old article gives a general May date.
What to have beside you
Find the confirmation page saved when your entry was submitted. It is more reliable than a number copied into a chat or sent by an intermediary. You will also need the primary entrant’s last name and year of birth as requested by the form. These are the entrant’s details, not a spouse’s or child’s details, unless that person made a separate entry.
Use a private device and connection if possible. Do not paste the complete confirmation number into a public post, send a screenshot to an unknown helper or give anyone a password in exchange for checking. A legitimate government status check does not need a social-media login or a payment card.
Step-by-step: use the official status tool
- Open the official Entrant Status Check on the U.S. Department of State’s
dvprogram.state.govdomain. If you prefer to navigate through another federal page, the USAGov DV results guide also directs entrants to the government check. - Choose the appropriate DV program year and press Continue. Compare the selected year with the year on your confirmation record before typing anything else.
- Enter the confirmation number exactly as recorded. Copy and paste carefully if it is stored digitally, checking that no blank spaces were added at the beginning or end.
- Enter the primary entrant’s last name and year of birth in the fields shown. Follow the form’s on-screen labels; do not substitute a later name or another family member’s details just because they appear on a different document.
- Complete the character check displayed by the site and submit the form. Read the message for the selected program year in full, including any instructions.
On a phone, zooming and automatic text correction can make form entry awkward. Check every field before submitting. If the character image is hard to read, use the site’s available refresh or accessibility option rather than guessing repeatedly. The site may also be busy when a result window first opens; waiting and trying again can be more useful than re-entering incorrect data.
Lost your confirmation number? Try the recovery form
Losing the original confirmation page does not automatically mean you must pay an agent. The government’s Entrant Status Check provides a confirmation-number recovery option. From the status tool, choose the forgotten-number link for the relevant program year. The recovery form asks for identifying details, the email address used on the original entry and a character check.
Use the same first, middle and last names and date of birth that were entered originally, following the displayed field labels. Enter the email address provided on that entry, not whichever address you use most often today. If someone helped you submit the form, check the confirmation copy to learn which address was used. Do not invent an email or change a name simply to get past an error.
After the tool finds a matching entry, securely save the recovered number and return to the status check. This is a self-service government route. The Kentucky Consular Center and an embassy do not simply send selection results or confirmation numbers to people who ask by email. If your recovery details do not match, first compare them with your original application record; avoid posting personal data on a forum to troubleshoot it.
If the site says the information is invalid
Work through one possible cause at a time. Confirm that you chose the entry’s DV year, not the current calendar year. Compare every character of the confirmation number with the saved record, including visually similar letters and digits. Remove accidental leading or trailing spaces. Then compare the entrant’s surname and birth year with what the entry actually contained.
Make sure the character check has not expired. Refresh the form if needed and complete a fresh challenge. If a browser has auto-filled fields from another family member, clear them. Try a current browser or another device when a page will not load, while keeping the same official web address. A temporary technical error does not establish either selection or non-selection.
Do not submit several altered versions of your identity information in the hope that one will work. If the entry itself contained a mistake, the status tool is not an application-editing service. Use the record of what was actually submitted to access the result and follow any government instructions relevant to a selected case.
What the status tool does and does not tell you
Entrant Status Check reports the selection status of a particular DV entry and, for selected entrants, provides instructions for the next stage. A selection is not an issued visa, a Green Card, an interview appointment or proof that every eligibility requirement has been met. A non-selected result is about that entry and program year; it is not the same as an immigrant-visa refusal after an interview.
The entry confirmation number also is not a general-purpose tracker for a later visa application. Keep the status record, any later case number and any application confirmation separately. That makes it easier to identify which reference a government form or notice is requesting. Our DV Lottery registration guide explains how to preserve the initial entry confirmation for a future cycle.
Avoid status-check scams
The State Department does not notify entrants by email or postal letter that they have won the DV Lottery. A message asking you to pay to unlock a result, upgrade an entry or guarantee a visa should be treated as suspicious. A lookalike web address may copy official colors and language; check the domain in the browser address bar before entering your number and personal details.
The status tool is free even if a private business offers related assistance. Do not rely on a result image shared by an agent without checking your own entry. If a helper controls the email account or confirmation record, retrieve your information through the official route where possible and keep independent copies. A future application may involve legitimate government fees, but checking whether an entry was selected does not.
Quick answers
Can I check with only my name?
No. The normal status check requires the confirmation number and identifying fields. If you have lost the number, use the government’s recovery option and the email associated with the original entry.
Does an unavailable page mean I was not selected?
No. An unopened result window, expired character check or temporary site problem is not a selection decision. Check the correct year’s official availability information and try again through the government site.
Can someone tell me my result by email?
Do not treat a winning email as an official result. Read your own status through Entrant Status Check. Keep your confirmation number and any result details private, and follow the instructions shown for your particular program year.